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Danford Megadump Opponents Present West Quebec with Waste Management Options
December 11, 2006-Danford Lake (Quebec)

The Coalition recommends plasma gasification as the best waste management option for municipalities in the Outaouais Region.

December 11, 2006-Danford Lake (Quebec): In an attempt to assist West Quebec Regional Councils in their effort to find a common solution to their waste management problems, a commitment they recently undertook at their meeting in Fort-Coulonge, the Coalition Against the Danford Megadump delivered a report to the Board of the Conférence régionale des élus de l'Outaouais (CRÉ-O) on Monday, December 11.

The report recommends that the Region select plasma gasification as the best waste management option available to it. Two or three plasma gasification facilities strategically located would deal with all the residual waste generated in the Outaouais, minimize transportation and also create jobs equitably distributed through the region.

The Coalition's proposal is entitled The Case for Plasma Gasification As A Primary Means of Managing Outaouais Waste by Converting It Into Energy. It was prepared after analyzing the Residual Waste Management Plans developed by each of the four Outaouais Regional Councils and the City of Gatineau, and incorporates discussions with, and documentation from, all three levels of government, the private sector and academia.

According to Coalition President André Carrière, this proposal represents the views of a growing number of citizens, who believe that any waste management method must be least disruptive to the citizens and their environment and address a number of important criteria such as turning waste into energy.

"Our research clearly indicates that plasma gasification is the most responsible solution, one that meets most-if not all- of the criteria that citizens of the region feel are important. With this document, we are urging West Quebec elected representatives to closely examine the plasma gasification solution and to discourage the highly risky and inefficient method which consists of simply burying waste in the ground", Mr. Carrière said.

Plasma gasification is the most advanced modern technology to dispose of waste. The process is carried out in an atmosphere starved of oxygen-in other words, there is no incineration. The name "plasma gasification" comes from the fact that a plasma torch is used to turn the waste into gases and a molten slag. The gas is cleaned at high pressure and used for producing electricity. The molten slag, when cooled, is essentially a stable vitreous material (glass) that is non-leachable, non-hazardous and is used as a construction material (e.g. road building). No dioxins and furans are generated by plasma gasification.

The process meets all important criteria: it is safe, and it respects efforts to reduce and recycle waste. It also keeps transportation costs to a minimum, and it can operate at a reasonable cost to taxpayers.

The Coalition's findings indicate that the technical landfill option least satisfies these criteria, whereas plasma gasification comes closest to them. Other options, such as modern low-emission incineration or sorting/composting fall somewhere in between.


For More Information

Michèle Borchers
Vice President, Coalition Against the Danford Mega Dump
613-237-0794 or 819-934-4639

André Carrière, President, Coalition Against the Danford Mega Dump
819-684-8876
819-665-8023

Appendixes
The Case for Plasma Gasification as a Primary Means af Managing Outaouais Waste by Converting it into Energy PDF, 45kb
Appendix 1 - Plasco Energy Group PDF, 16kb
Appendix 2 – Waste Management Overview of the Outaouais and suggestions for implementing plasma gasification PDF, 68kb
Appendix 3 - Canadian and International experience with alternative approaches to waste management. PDF, 30kb
Appendix 4 - Worldwide Plasma Gasification Experience in Waste Treatment and Review of Some Companies offering the Technology PDF, 41kb
Appendix 5 - Emissions and Contaminant Standards for Plasma Gasification PDF, 15kb



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